Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Check out these photos highlighting Paige VanZant’s career through the years.
Check out these photos highlighting [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag]’s career through the years.
Also see: Fight Game on the ‘Gram: BKFC signee Paige VanZant’s best posts
Check out the GFL Draft results and see which of the hottest free agents and MMA legends were selected to compete in the inaugural year.
It’s not every day there’s an MMA draft, but Friday there was
The 2025 GFL Draft took place virtually with a live stream on MMA Junkie. Six teams, each representing a major city, drafted from a pool of approximately 500 fighters, including big-name free agents and rising prospects.
One-hundred-twenty athletes were be selected across 10 weight classes (heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, lightweight, featherweight, bantamweight, women’s bantamweight, women’s strawweight, and women’s atomweight). However, the weight classes are divided slightly differently than the traditional weight classes. The promotion says it’s an effort to combat weight cutting.
Click here to see which fighters are eligible for the draft.
The six teams are managed and coached by MMA notables, as follows: Dubai (manager Cain Velasquez and coach Javier Mendez); London (manager Luke Barnatt and coach Carl Prince); Los Angeles (manager Wanderlei Silva and coach Rafael Cordeiro); Miami (manager Thiago Alves and coach Conan Silveira); New York (manager TBA and coach Ray Longo); and Sao Paulo (manager Lyoto Machida and coach Andre Pederneiras.
While a specific date has yet to be revealed, the promotion says it will launch in April with regular season, semi-finals, and finals events held throughout the year.
The 2025 GFL Draft results are as follows:
Team Dubai
Team Los Angeles
Team London
Team Miami
Team Sao Paulo
Team New York
UFC veteran Paige VanZant says she has accepted a contract with Global Fight League to return to MMA in 2025.
[autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag] will be making a return to MMA in 2025 as a part of the new Global Fight League roster.
GFL, a new MMA promotion, recently announced it has a massive roster of over 300 fighters under contract, which includes many familiar names who fought under other major organizations such as UFC, Bellator and PFL.
VanZant (8-5), who built a 5-4 record during her time in the UFC, says she has added her name to the GFL roster.
“They are picking up anybody and everybody who has a name in this sport who is a free agent,” VanZant said on “Paige and Austin: A Kickass Love Story.” “… So, they offered me a contract, and I said yes. Going back to MMA. I think this is the perfect opportunity because I didn’t necessarily leave MMA.
“I definitely didn’t leave MMA because I wasn’t passionate about it anymore, but leaving when I became a free agent outside of the UFC, the biggest offer that came in was bareknuckle boxing. They were the ones, they presented the best offer to me and it was exciting, it was new. It definitely sparked my interest.”
After exiting the UFC after a submission loss to Amanda Ribas in July 2020, VanZant signed with BKFC, where she competed twice. VanZant says her most lucrative offers came from the boxing world, both traditional and bareknuckle, as she also dabbled in professional wrestling and most recently, slap fighting.
“Now, there is this new MMA organization that made me really excited to fight for them,” VanZant said. “Like, the way they’re doing it, they’re legit paying their athletes. Everybody I’ve heard thats negotiated their contract so far is extremely excited and happy. I also saw that, which I don’t know the logistics behind the scenes, but they’re doing like a pension fund for the fighters, and I think health insurance.”
GFL co-founder Darren Owen announced a number of intriguing incentives for fighters, including a 50-50 revenue share, retirement benefits, insurance, training support, and more.
The promotion is expected to launch in April, although an exact date is not announced. GFL features a league format with playoffs, but it differs from PFL with a team-based format, which will be determined by a draft in January.
For VanZant, this return to MMA is exciting because she enjoys the sport, and also feels she will be properly compensated under the GFL banner.
“I think obviously there’s value and of course I want to fight for a title one day, I want to work up to a championship,” VanZant said. “But I also feel like I have this realistic mindset to the point where if you’re doing a job, and you’re not getting paid your value for it, then it’s a hobby. I just feel like if I’m going to do the same job, if I’m going to be doing the same violence, the same dedication, same drive, I’m going to go where I’m going to be making the most money.”
[lawrence-related id=388806,2781182,2781170]
Check out these photos from former UFC star Paige VanZant’s second slap fighting match at Power Slap 9 in Abu Dhabi
Check out these photos from [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag]’s second slap fighting match at Power Slap 9 in Abu Dhabi. VanZant and Chelsea Dodson slapped each other to a unanimous draw. (Photos courtesy of Power Slap)
Former UFC star Paige VanZant’s second appearance in Power Slap wasn’t a success the way her debut was.
Former UFC star [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag]’s second appearance in Power Slap wasn’t a success the way her debut was.
On Thursday in Abu Dhabi, VanZant slapped her way to a unanimous draw against Chelsea Dodson, with all three judges scoring the fight 28-28 after three slaps each. VanZant won the first and third rounds but was docked a point for a clubbing foul in Round 2.
You can watch video highlights in the clips below:
Paige VanZant and Chelsea Dodson slap to unanimous draw in the former UFC fighter’s second Power Slap appearance.
pic.twitter.com/g5e36x8d0W
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) October 24, 2024
Paige shook that off
Tune into #PowerSlap9 NOW LIVE & FREE on Rumble@visitabudhabi | @inabudhabi | #InAbuDhabi pic.twitter.com/EAjhgSstXu
— Power Slap (@powerslap) October 24, 2024
VanZant’s draw against Dodson, the wife of former UFC title challenger John Dodson, comes on the heels of her winning a decision in her Power Slap debut this past June.
[lawrence-related id=2781182]
Check out the latest episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze.”
Monday’s episode of MMA Junkie Radio with “Gorgeous” George and “Goze” is here.
On Episode 3,507, the brosephs welcome in guests [autotag]Raquel Pennington[/autotag] and [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag]. Plus, they recap the big PFL: Battle of the Giants pay-per-view, the UFC’s latest show and discussed the latest news. Tune in!
Former UFC star Paige VanZant is likely done fighting in MMA.
Don’t hold your breath for an MMA return from [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag].
The former UFC star, who in recent years has been fighting for BKFC and Power Slap, doesn’t see herself returning to the sport that launched her profile, although she doesn’t rule it out 100 percent.
VanZant has put a lot of mileage on her body throughout her combat sports career. She still loves MMA but doesn’t want to risk her health any further.
“I don’t ever like to say I’m closing the door 100 percent, but I do see it would be hard for me to go back into MMA, not because I don’t love it or not because I don’t have a passion for it still, but like I said, I broke my arm five times in my life and four times in basically two years of competing,” VanZant told MMA Junkie Radio.
“I had two surgeries on it, and I still have a huge plate that runs the length of my entire forearm. So just going back to that place of risking breaking my arm again and having surgery again and getting set back, I can still have the thrill of competing, and I can still get that rush without putting my body at risk. One, I’m fine if I break my arm, it’s really just the mental fortitude, I don’t know if I can push through that again. It was a really, really rough few years.”
VanZant returns to competition at Power Slap 9 on Oct. 24 in Abu Dhabi. Although the athletes are taking defenseless blows to the head, there isn’t the wear and tear of grappling in competition or preparation – which VanZant appreciates.
VanZant is signed with Power Slap on a fight-by-fight basis. She doesn’t know how long she’ll continue, but for now, she says it has been a fun career chapter.
“My draw to Power Slap is that I had nothing going on, and I just came out of a boxing match, so I was like, ‘You know what, I’m already in shape,'” VanZant said. “They called and asked if I wanted to do Power Slap, and I was like, ‘Yeah, why not? It seems like a great opportunity. I didn’t know if I would want to do it again, it was a brand-new experience, and I absolutely loved it.”
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=103]
Paige VanZant said she would do slap fighting again, and she meant it.
[autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag] said she would do slap fighting again, and she meant it.
Dana White’s promotion announced Wednesday that VanZant will make her second appearance Oct. 24 at Power Slap 9 in Abu Dhabi where she’ll face newcomer Chelsea Dodson. The event takes place just two days before UFC 308 at Etihad Arena, also in Abu Dhabi.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DAoYw-2SJQ8/?igsh=ZzBvaHdiY3p5bHcy
VanZant, who was once a UFC darling, won her Power Slap debut against Christine Wolmarans by unanimous decision after three rounds of defenselessly slapping each other in the face back in June.
Afterward, VanZant said she believed she had a future in slap fighting.
“I told everybody, and everybody should know that I am tough as hell,” VanZant told reporters after her win. “I’ve gone from the UFC to bareknuckle boxing to boxing to Power Slap. I’ve done pro wrestling. I just want to compete. I had an absolutely incredible time doing this. I think that they’re gonna want me back absolutely, so I do see a future here. I just want to compete, and I want to live my life and have fun, show off how tough I am.”
VanZant’s victory in her Power Slap debut was her first in a combat sports setting since a January 2019 submission win over Rachael Ostovich in the UFC’s first event of the ESPN era. After that, VanZant lost her final UFC bout against Amanda Ribas in 2020, lost two BKFC fights against Britain Hart and Ostovich in 2021, and earlier this year fought to a split draw in a boxing match with influencer Elle Brooke.
Go behind the scenes of Paige VanZant’s Misfits Boxing title shot against fellow OnlyFans star Elle Brooke.
After a split draw in her return to competitive combat sports earlier this year, [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag] hoped for a rematch against [autotag]Elle Brooke[/autotag].
Misfits Boxing might be on board with it, too. The promotion seemed to be in the immediate aftermath of MF & DAZN: X Series 15 in Houston, where VanZant and champ Brooke each got a 48-46 score in the five-round fight. A third judge scored the bout a 47-47 draw.
The fight was VanZant’s first combat sports outing since a unanimous decision loss in a bareknuckle boxing bout against Rachael Ostovich at BKFC 19 in July 2021. Although she has been competitive in her last four outings across MMA, boxing and bareknuckle, VanZant has not won a fight since she submitted Ostovich in January 2019 in the UFC. She tried her hand, literally, at Power Slap recently and picked up a win.
Brooke is a social media influencer and OnlyFans model who crossed over into boxing. VanZant took the opposite route, but has said in recent months that she made more money in 24 hours on OnlyFans than she did in her entire UFC career, which spanned nine fights over around six years.
While a rematch isn’t official, the social media stars are part of a third episode of OnlyFans TV’s “Rise & Grind,” which looks back at their fight in Houston. Look back at the first fight behind the scenes in the video from OnlyFans TV.
[vertical-gallery id=388806]
[vertical-gallery id=2743449]
[listicle id=554657]
If Paige VanZant gets her way, she’ll be back in Power Slap sooner than later as the former UFC star believes she has a legitimate future.
LAS VEGAS – If [autotag]Paige VanZant[/autotag] gets her way, she’ll be back slap fighting sooner than later as the former UFC star believes she has a legitimate future in it.
Making her Power Slap debut last Friday at Fontainebleau Hotel & Casino, VanZant defeated Christine Wolmarans by unanimous decision after three rounds of defenselessly slapping each other in the face. VanZant’s venture into Power Slap – owned by Dana White and the UFC – was mocked by critics as the latest in a series of gimmicky career moves since her UFC departure. Those have included bareknuckle boxing with BKFC, pro wrestling with AEW, influencer boxing, and now slap fighting.
Now with one competition under her belt, VanZant is emboldened to make the most with Power Slap.
“I told everybody, and everybody should know that I am tough as hell,” VanZant told reporters, including MMA Junkie, after her win. “I’ve gone from the UFC to bareknuckle boxing to boxing to Power Slap, I’ve done pro wrestling. I just want to compete. I had an absolutely incredible time doing this. I think that they’re gonna want me back absolutely, so I do see a future here. I just want to compete, and I want to live my life and have fun, show off how tough I am.”
VanZant said she’s capable of doing Power Slap “much more often than any other sport,” in large part because she won’t cut weight.
“I do not think that you should cut weight for this (because of) the dehydration of the brain,” VanZant said. “… It does affect your brain. Taking slaps and just eating them right there, you do want to have your brain as hydrated as possible.”
When VanZant signed with BKFC in August 2020 after leaving the UFC, critics questioned why she’d do such a thing. Her signing sparked a lot of interest in BKFC and helped the promotion grow into an attractive option for mixed martial artists.
She believes she can do the same for Power Slap.
“Going from the UFC to bareknuckle boxing, it felt the exact same as coming here to Power Slap,” VanZant said. “I think nobody expected it. BKFC still wasn’t the powerhouse name that it is now, so I do think I sparked a lot of interest in people going over to BKFC. I think I’ll do the exact same thing here with Power Slap. You don’t know until you know, and now I hope I let everybody know that I do belong here, and I want to do crazy things.”
[lawrence-related id=388806,2752434,2752469,2751169]
